Heart Song
by Kitsune Moonstar
Summary: Nanao's hoping that White Day doesn't have any of the surprises Valentine's Day did. It would be nice for something to go as planned. AU. This is a sequel to Love Song, Winter Song,New Song, and Sweet Song.


Author's note: I do not own Bleach or its characters. This is AU and set in Japan. This set after Love Song, Winter Song, New Song, and Sweet Song.

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**Heart Song**

Nanao entered the office cautiously. White Day tended to be extravagant and at times embarrassing when it came to her boss. Added to that the fact that she was now actually romantically involved with the man, Nanao was uncertain what to expect. However, the office looked fairly normal this morning. There was a bouquet of iris and calla lilies on her desk that hadn't been there yesterday as well as a lack of paperwork, but that was it. Nanao was more than a little surprised by that. Shunsui had the tendency to be extravagant, and their Valentine's Day plans had been put on hold. He had more than once mentioned needing to make up for that.

Not that those events had been under their control. Rangiku had been a month out from her due date, so her going into labor on Valentine's had caught everyone by surprise, including her husband. Nanao had spent most of the day at Rangiku's side while Shunsui tracked down Gin and got him back where he needed to be. By the time they were done, both Shunsui and Nanao had been exhausted and wanting nothing more than to go to bed. After that, they had been too busy with the classes they were teaching to really have a make up date.

Still the fact the office was not filled with flowers or balloons or some other sort of extravagant gesture didn't completely set Nanao at ease. There were still a number of things that could happen. It wasn't that Nanao minded Shunsui's affectionate nature; she just didn't really like being the center of attention. When she preformed, Nanao dealt with it by focusing on the music. However, when one is suddenly showered in rose petals for no apparent reason or some else flashy like that, there wasn't anything else to focus on. Hopefully, Shunsui would go too overboard. Nanao set her cup of tea down on her desk and got down to work.

As she began to work through the paperwork, she was surprised to find the only thing here were the papers she needed to grade for a class she was teaching. Nanao couldn't find any of the other paperwork she normally dealt with for her boss. The woman finally spied it in Shunsui's out box. When she went over to investigate, she was even more surprised to find that it was all completed correctly. A smile spread across her face. Perhaps this was her White Day gift. If it was, Shunsui had chosen quite well. This made her much happier than candies or flowers would.

With a smile, Nanao returned to her grading. The class wasn't until one, and she hoped to be able to return everyone's papers then. As lunch approached, Nanao found herself in need of snack. She opened the bottom drawer of her desk to retrieve the crackers she normally kept there for just such occasions. However, instead of her crackers, Nanao found a box of chocolate truffles shaped like ladybugs. She blinked. She hadn't realized he knew these were her favorites. They weren't easy to find chocolates either.

By the time lunch rolled around, Nanao had finished both her grading and her chocolates. The lunch hour also was the first time her boss showed up. Shunsui swept into the room wearing that ridiculous pink shirt he loved and carrying take out.

"Happy White Day, my lovely Nanao-chan. I brought lunch."

She smiled. "Thank you, Shunsui. You really didn't need to. You've already done more than enough."

His eyes lit up when she used his first name. Nanao rarely did that when they were in the office much to his frustration. "Nonsense. My Nanao-chan needs someone to spoil her every once in a while."

Nanao's desk served as a makeshift table. Shunsui laid out the meal, and Nanao at this point was not surprised to find that it was not only her favorite, but it was also from her favorite restaurant. The two of them discussed their various piano classes as they ate as well as the upcoming spring recitals. The subject turned to Rangiku and her twin daughters who would be a month old today. Once they had finished eating, Shunsui began to clean up. Nanao got up to help, but he waved her back into her seat.

"Ne, Nanao-chan, do you have plans for this evening?"

She shook her head. "Not really, no. Why?"

"I want to take my Nanao-chan out for dinner. Say eight-ish?"

"All right. What sort of place did you have in mind?"

"That's a secret, Nanao-chan."

"How am I supposed to know what to wear then?"

Shunsui frowned a little. "If you wear that violet dress from the New Year's party, you'll be just fine."

That told her more than he thought. The dress wasn't the most formal thing she owned, but it wasn't the sort of thing you wore to the restaurants they regularly frequented. Nanao tucked that information in the back of her mind as she went about the rest of her work for the day. She wasn't quite sure what Shunsui was planning, but he was clearly up to something. Nanao finished work with more than enough time to swing by her apartment to shower and change. Truthfully, these days her apartment was more of a storage facility than anything else. She spent most of her time at Shunsui's home. However, it made for sense to let her lease run out in April rather than pay the hefty fee for breaking it.

Dressed in the pale violet dress with a soft grey shawl wrapped around her shoulders, Nanao was ready ten minutes before eight. She ran her fingers over her necklace to calm herself some. Nanao would admit to being a little nervous. Shunsui tended to be more spontaneous with their romance, and the fact that he had planned all this out made her wonder what exactly he was up to. Oddly enough, she was not afraid of them breaking up despite her fear of just that being one of the reasons she had avoided starting a romance with the man in the first place. In the nine months that Nanao had been dating Shunsui, she had quickly come to realize that there truly was no room for anyone else in his heart beside her. She was it for him. As clichéd as the idea of true love was, it rather fit the two of them.

Shunsui showed up at her door on time for a change. He pulled her in close for a kiss before offering Nanao a smile and his arm. To Nanao's surprise, the restaurant was no more than a ten minute walk from her apartment. In fact, she had walked by the place a few times without realizing it. The host greeted them warmly and immediately led them to a table in the back that overlooked a little garden. Shunsui ordered sake for both of them, and they were left with their menus.

Nanao worried her bottom lip as she tried to decide what to eat. There were too many things that looked delicious. Once they had ordered, Shunsui started a conversation about recent movies and what they might want to go see at some point. Their food arrived, and it was quite good. Shunsui had yet to mention what he was up to, but Nanao could be patient. Truthfully, this was rather nice. Far too often the school kept them to busy to really have a night out, especially with all the insanity Aizen had caused. Things were calming down some, but nights like this were still relatively rare.

Dessert arrived, and Nanao was delighted to find that her favorite treat was on the menu. However, when the little confection arrived, it was not alone on the plate. Resting beside it was a delicate platinum ring that held a diamond flanked by a pair of amethysts. Startled, Nanao looked up to meet Shunsui's eyes.

"I know we haven't really been together for all that long, but it seems like you've been with me for years. In some ways, you have." Shunsui smiled at her. "I love you, Nanao. Marry me?"

She nodded, slipping on the ring. Nanao didn't trust her voice right this moment. Shunsui rose and came over to her side of the table to kiss her. She kissed him back, her heart practically singing with joy.


End file.
